European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 22, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Alternative sentences Lisa Hall Center and Melanie Thompson right debate novels instead of serving jail time. Judge throws books at repeat offender by Katharine Webster the associated press Hen a woman with a Long record of theft convictions came before Lynn District judge Joseph Dever in Lowell mass., last year for sentencing he threw the books at her. Sean Campbell 38, who already had been to prison twice was told she could either Complete a College level literature class featuring novels by women writers or face jail time. She chose Toni Morrison Sandra Cisneros and Barbara Kingsolver. She says it changed her life. Quot it s the first time anybody Ever gave me a Chance Campbell said. Quot before it was always warehouse her there was nothing else Ever available or offered. The support was never there. The interest in the person was never there. And this time it was Quot she said. To qualify for the changing lives through literature course offenders need Only Quot a minimal degree of literacy Quot and motivation to change. Sex offenders or those currently using illegal drugs or alcohol Are excluded. Quot we re talking about people who commit crime after crime robbery Petty theft credit card fraud a things people do because of lifestyle dead ends poverty and not having education Quot said Jean Trounstine a professor at Middlesex Community College who teaches the three month class for women. The judge and probation officers take the class alongside a half dozen women offenders who Are required to read a novel every two weeks and attend All six classes and a courtroom graduation. If the women drop out they go to jail. Quot i had a lot of people praying for me Quot said Melanie Thompson 24, of Beverly who graduated in january Quot of the judge had judged me just by looking at my record i would have gotten jail  Thompson who had several prostitution convictions credits her recent conversion to christianity a not the course a with turning her life around. Quot i have no interest in non Christian authors. So 1 was really really angry about having to take this course Quot Thompson said. But she still got something out of it. Quot it taught me patience taught me to stick with things Quot she said Quot it was neat to accomplish something. I be always been a  the program began with a class for men offenders taught at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth by English department chairman Robert p. Waxiler. Waxiler persuaded District judge Robert Kane who is based in new Bedford to Start sentencing offenders to the class in 1991. Bristol county prosecutors also agreed to recommend offenders As Long As they were not up for sentencing on a violent crime said Lewis Armstead the county s chief District court prosecutor. Waxiler believes discussion of the books themes and characters a men coping with crises and violent impulses a helps students reflect on their own behaviour. Quot those Guys got into a situation where they have been so marginalized that they do not believe any longer that their voice is being heard anywhere in society Quot Waxler said Quot that s coupled with a sense that the Only Way they can communicate is through acts of violence Quot he said. Students in his first class had an average of 18 convictions apiece. Campbell said books like Zora Neale Hurston s their eyes were watching cod a about Quot single females and the struggles they had to overcome in their lives Quot a hit Home for her. Kane and Dever said having judges and probation officers take the class is critical because offenders feel like someone in authority wants to hear their opinions. Quot you did t see them As the judge and the probation officer. They were just other people in the class said Lisa Hall 20, of Lynn who was placed on probation after pawning a stolen Bracelet Given to her by her Boyfriend. There Are signs the program contributes to rehabilitation according to a preliminary study by Roger Jarjoura a professor of criminal Justice at Indiana University. He tracked 32 male graduates of Waxler s course Over a 21/-year period and found Only 19 percent were convicted of new crimes compared to 45 percent of a group of men with similar backgrounds who were sentenced to prison. But Jarjoura cautioned the study results were inconclusive because the offenders chosen for the program already were motivated to change. The women s program which began a year ago for offenders brought before Lowell and Lynn District courts was not. Studied. Short subject canadians Are losing squeaky clean imagery Jeffrey Ulbrich the associated press How do you identify a Canadian in new York he a the one standing  Corner in a storm at 2 a.m., not a car in sight waiting for the walk Quot Light. How do you get 400 canadians out of the swimming Pool just say Quot of All you canadians out of the . Those Are the Standard jokes at any rate. But things May be changing. That Law abiding attitude the congenital politeness the rigid moral values that turned a vast land into what is sometimes called a caffeine free America a appear to be giving Way to a More rebellious society. A booming underground Economy has sprung up largely in reaction to a hated Federal goods and services tax of 7 percent on virtually everything even postage Stamps file is the Maple Leaf beginning to waver added to provincial sales taxes of up to 12 percent. It is common for Home repair contractors Auto mechanics landscapes and other Small entrepreneurs to give two estimates Cash with no paperwork and a much higher estimate that includes taxes and a receipt. Cigarette taxes As High As 400 percent caused a revolt among Quebec merchants who began Selling cheap contraband smokes openly in Defiance of the Law. The revolt spread and ultimately the Federal government and several provinces drastically reduced tobacco taxes. Things Are so bad in new Brunswick that the provincial government urges citizens to inform on people they suspect of evading taxes using a crime stoppers Telephone number new Bruns Wickers Call a the rat  lawbreaking and rebellion do not come easy to canadians. The ancestors of Many were British loyalists who fled North during the american revolution. Conformity has been part of their nature and society. A but a slowing Economy and growing immigration have created new pressures. A when growth stows and you have economic problems you go through a very serious readjustment period and people have to think about a what s my share a said Michael Mcdonald director of the Center for applied ethics at the University of British Columbia. And increasingly canadians Are bending the Law to get theirs a and becoming a bit More like their neighbors to the South. Wednesday june 22, 1994 the stars and stripes